Assemblyman Mike Miller pushed a resolution to have Woodhaven's Emanuel Church of Christ recognized and honored by the city.

The assemblyman has wanted the church to become part of the state's daily journal, which chronicles the history of the state, so that it could be documented as part of its history.

“A great state is only as great as those persons who give exemplary service to their community, whether through participation in voluntary programs, through unique personal achievement in their professional or other endeavors or simply through a lifetime of good citizenry,” the resolution reads, stressing that the church exemplifies this.

The church held a 135th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, May 6, and the assemblyman provide Reverend Toni Walrond with a proclamation.

Emanuel Church of Christ began as a mission of the Reformed Church of Christ. During the winter of 1876-1877, members of St. Paul’s Reformed Church in Manhattan moved across the river into Brooklyn. The congregation began to grown until the building could no longer handle the attendance.

In 1909, another mission had begun in an empty store on Jamaica Avenue, in Richmond Hill. A few years later, as attendance grew steadily, the congregation began to search for a permanent church home. Corner plot on Woodhaven Boulevard was purchased, as well as a portable chapel.

The incorporated name was changed to Emanuel Evangelical Reformed Church of Woodhaven. By 1922 the two congregations agreed to merge and the construction began of the new building at 89th Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard, where the church remains to this day. By 1934 the congregation had over 600 members.

Emanuel Church continues to serve the community of Woodhaven to this day.